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I came across an article called “The No. 1 habit of highly creative people” by Leo Babauta.

In one word: Solitude

I immediately thought of things and theories related to happiness, creativity, greatness, success, personal suffering, I thought of poets, scientists, philosophers, writers, musicians…great intellects. I keep pondering about whether personal suffering is the single most important drive to success and creativity. I keep thinking about the connection between happiness and achievements, and thought of the fact that Mexico and Philippine are statistically considered the two happiest countries in the world, yet having un-proportional low impact on science, technology, business, art etc.. I keep thinking about what a man with dream should pursue: happiness or greatness? Or could there be one that unifies both. I keep thinking about the study showing the correlation between high intelligence and ultimate unhappiness. Is pursuit of happiness doomed for people whose ideal life should be spectacular, an ideology, an odyssey?

Understand Solitude and desire

Wikipedia has it – Solitude is a state of seclusion or isolation;

“I live in that solitude which is painful in youth, but delicious in the years of maturity.” ~Albert Einstein

Solitude is against human nature. Yet, solitude creates space for human to think. Solitude comes as a natural part when we are young, do not have family, no one relies on us, we live for our own being. We roam the society alone until one day we meet someone, form a relationship, a family, and life goes on. All of sudden, it’s hard to find your own space, let alone to think and create things substantial.

The kind of solitude when we are actually alone (or lonely) is different from the one that we purposefully seek out when we have family, circles of friends, and lots of social interaction. Even though I have clear idea of what to work on, the fear for too much solitude drives me to seek ways to satisfy youth left in my body: the desire, the temptations come knocking at the door. I find myself distracted by all kinds of parties, exotic resorts, beautiful women etc.. I feel the urge, the fire, sometime I let them burst out, sometime, like most of this memorial weekend, I forced myself to completely remove the part hour, turning off TV, make fresh hot green tea with some raw honey, open up curtain to let the breeze in, see the green branches swing outside my window, open up a notepad to actually CREATE. The kind of solitude created this way suppressed my physical desire, my desire for others’ attention and female touch and love, my desire to travel far and away and indulge myself in the bright sun and pouring rain. But it’s also the kind of solitude that gives me space to think and keep moving, finding creativity and getting things done. To create is to suffer. But if it gives back things that are satisfying to you more than just physical indulgence, would you mind to suffer a little?

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• The No. 1 Habit of Highly Creative People (zenhabits.net)